I get that it started for free with less intrusive ads, but YouTube has had a huge impact on the way we all share and consume information. Understanding how much money it takes to run a service with the technology needed to provide high definition videos on a site that is up 99.9999999% of the time, I have no issue paying for a service that has changed my life in many positive ways. Now I do hate price gouging like everyone else, but it’s inescapable from gas & groceries to all streaming platforms.
I’m on the family plan, and it’s certainly expensive compared to other streaming services. But I use YouTube both personally and professionally. I teach, and whenever I need to show a video, having a work account with premium is invaluable since I can’t install ad blockers on campus. My wife and kids all have their own accounts under the family plan as well. We all use YouTube music as well.
Google pisses me off and I’ve been getting out from under their heel for a while, but YouTube premium is something that I genuinely find value in paying for. At the very least, I want to financially support the creators that I watch and this is the best way to do so while avoiding advertisements.